Shoes and housecats

Strange weather we're having these days.....minus 27 C yesterday and above zero today. Climate change my friends, I've been saying it for years. Yet, I'm never unprepared to face the elements when (get ready for a shameless plug) I'm wearing my Mizuno apparel and footwear!

In all seriousness though, I have been wearing Mizuno shoes for about 2 years now....initially I was drawn to them because they are flippin comfy. That was really the major sell for me. I put my foot in, wiggled my toes, jogged up and down the street (you have to ask permission from the salesperson before you do that though!) and I was hooked. Many pairs of shoes later (one of my greatest sorrows as an environmentalist is how many shoes I wear through) and I am yet to be let down. From the long and steady to speed intervals on the track. Mizuno has a shoe that fits the bill.

I currently I have a couple of pairs of Mizuno's on the go right now. I have just started wearing the Ronin, which is more of a minimalist shoe, meaning that there is less shoe between you and the ground. It is light, sleek and form fitting, yet seems to be a bit tougher than other shoes of its class, with decent treads and intelligently placed support around the heel and through the mid-foot - meaning I have no problem running fast over the shoddily (is that even a word?) plowed roads and sidewalks of Kingston. Plus it's bright yellow with dark blue and some nice sparkly bits in the laces....a fashion winner in my books!

One of the other Mizuno shoes that I have been wearing over the past few years is the Musha. This is also a minimalist shoe (also known as a racing flat) and while the Ronin is more rugged and outdoorsy, the Musha is more of a housecat. It will venture outside in nice weather and will carry me spryly over nice ground, but would much rather to be inside chasing the mice around the track.

Now, I'm not sure how much that helps you if you are out shoe shopping, but let me tell you, kiddo, that Mizuno is producing some hot items these days and is establishing themselves as a definite market contender. A small caveat, to the average runner: to wear a minimalist shoe and/or to run barefoot, one must be running properly and efficiently. You can't go tromping around smashing your heels wearing little or no shoe and expect to keep your knee caps intact. You must be striking the ground with your midfoot with a cadence of approximately 180 steps (both feet) per minute. I would highly recommend anyone looking to stay injury free to look into improving their running technique. Good form running is not difficult to learn but (like anything) it takes practice and time: it took me about 3 months to be able to run correctly, and I'm still tweaking things years later.

Anyway, that's all for now. Training is going well and I'm getting excited for NYC....more on that later.
Shalom.
Be Easy.